Rain, 42, is a Gay Woman in Pittsburgh #AMPLIFY

Name: Rain Age: 42 County of Residence: Allegheny, previously Washington County. Pronouns: she/her How do you describe your identity?  i am gay Please describe your coming out experience. Where did you find support? What challenges did you face? my mother has not spoken to me for almost 20 years as a result, though she has known since i was 13. my […]

He’s a cisgender polyamorous bisexual guy, but nobody asks #AMPLIFY

Allegheny County LGBTQ

Name:  Just another lawyer Age:  38 County of Residence:  Allegheny Pronouns: He/His How do you describe your identity? I generally don’t. It’s the advantage to presenting the way I do: I don’t have to describe anything. Please describe your coming out experience. Where did you find support? What challenges did you face?  To a large degree, I never have. See […]

Lakeview School District in Mercer County Implements Trans Inclusive Student Policies

Lakeview School District in Mercer County serves about 1200 students in a district with a population of 8,600 people.  Mercer County is in Northwestern Pennsylvania, about 60 miles to Erie and another 60 miles to Pittsburgh. The district is comprised of Fairview Township, Jackson Center Borough, Jackson Township, Lake Township, Mill Creek Township, New Lebanon […]

Should (or could) this blog be more lesbian?

Earlier today, someone left a comment on an AMPLIFY post. I typically don’t allow comments on those posts because of the archival nature of the project. This comment was actually unrelated to the project so I decided it would be more appropriate to move to another place on the blog – this post. Ann Brooks […]

Joseph, 28, is a HIV+ queer and gay man in Pittsburgh #AMPLIFY

A HIV+ queer and gay man Pittsburgh

  Name: Joseph Onstott Age:  28 County of Residence:  Allegheny Pronouns: he/him/his they/their How do you describe your identity? A HIV+ queer and gay man Please describe your coming out experience. Where did you find support? What challenges did you face? I feel like straight people have this idea in their head that it’s an overnight process when it is anything […]

Winter, 18, Identifies as a Genderquestioning Bisexual Person #AMPLIFY

Allegheny County LGBTQ

Name: Winter Age:  18 County of Residence:  Allegheny Pronouns: She/her How do you describe your identity? I am a genderquestioning bisexual. Please describe your coming out experience. Where did you find support? What challenges did you face? I’m not fully out. I only came out two years ago to my friends and a few family members. My mom, stepdad, […]

Suspect Identified in Shooting Death of Pittsburgh Native, Black Trans Woman Phylicia Mitchell

Phylicia Coulson Brown

On February 24, a Pittsburgh native was shot to death in broad daylight outside her Cleveland residence. Her name was Phylicia Mitchell and she was a Black trans woman who had relocated to Cleveland after growing up on Pittsburgh’s Northside. She was 46. Tonight comes word that Cleveland police have identified a suspect in her […]

Q&A with Amber Sloan, Candidate for Allegheny County Democratic Committee

A friend of mine stepped up to run for office, specifically for a seat at the table of the Allegheny County Democratic Committee.  Amber is a powerful voice in the City, especially in her home neighborhood of Homewood. Read her AMPLIFY profile here We’ve been featuring candidates for various offices, but this is our first […]

Sasha Wall is the 8th Transgender Person Murdered in 2018 in the US

Sasha Wall was 29 years old when she died from gunshot wounds on Sunday, April 1, 2018 on a rural road in South Carolina. She was found at 8 AM on Easter morning after cars had passed her parked-but-running vehicle for two hours. Sasha was a Black trans woman. That’s a horrifying metaphor for American […]

Amia Tyrae Berryman is 7th Trans Person Killed in 2018 #SayHerName

Amia Tyrae

  Tragic news from Monica Roberts at Transgriot. 28-year-old Amia Tyrae Berryman is the 7th trans person to be murdered in 2018. She died at 1:15 AM this morning, March 26 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. According to her Facebook page, Amia was a native of New Orleans who had finished high school in Baton Rouge […]